121 Black Flames 1 (1/2)

Dyon was immediately immersed in his planning. And even planning his planning. He wanted to know everything there was to know about the army he had just gained, and how to make the best use of their abilities.

What he ended up finding out was surprising. Even the weakest among the generals were of the essence gathering level, including Arios. At first, Dyon wondered why a sage would need such relatively weak generals, but then he realized his thought was stupid. Since some Gates cap at the essence gathering level, you obviously needed talented young generals to lead campaigns at those Gates.

There was a total of 3000 generals. A thousand at the lower essence gathering level, another thousand at the higher essence gathering level, and the last thousand at the lower saint level. This realization made Dyon widen his eyes in shock.

'A thousand saint level experts?... ridiculous.'

However, Dyon was also aware that this was but a drop in the ocean compared to the experts even in this universe. Not only did even the small the Elvin Kingdom itself have peak level saints who could wipe out Dyon's entire army with just a bit of effort, if one took the entire planet into consideration, a thousand lower saints, even without taking into account those of higher levels of cultivation, would lose out by sheer lack of numbers. What was a thousand to millions?

Thus, Dyon made a decision. He wouldn't use the demon generals in his first campaign unless he uncovered the mystery of the Elvin Kingdom and the Celestial Deer Sect. Only by knowing who and where his enemies were would he feel comfortable revealing some of his hand. The second decision he made was to cap the amount of demon generals he would use.

Because of the talent of the demon generals, their combat prowess far surpassed those of the same level. As such, Dyon decided that he would only take out 100 lower essence gathering demon generals if he uncovered the mysteries of the Elvin Kingdom.

Dyon smiled to himself, 'sure, leading a massive army is great… although I guess 2000 isn't that large,' he thought. Remembering that the Gate his first campaign would take place in had a cap of peak essence gathering, Dyon knew the saint level experts weren't a possibility, 'but, what could be cooler than having a small army and still dominating?'

Although Dyon thought this like a joke, there were real reasons why he preferred a smaller army. For one, with his lack of experience, smaller numbers would be easier for him to command. Then, with the unpredictability of the Gates, it was also easier to protect everyone should their numbers be kept in check. And finally, him suddenly appearing with an army of a hundred was still acceptable… two thousand though? That was pushing it.

'plus… with only a hundred, considering how many transcendent weapons the Celestial Deer Sect left to me, I should be able to equip them all.'

With that thought, Dyon quickly memorized the names of each and every one of his demon generals. Over the next few months, he would take his time to learn about all of their abilities and more about the Gates. With that knowledge, he'd form a well-balanced team of a hundred. Dyon already had no doubt in his mind that settling the matter of the Elvin Kingdom… was only a matter of time.

”Arios,” Dyon called out to the handsome young man.

”Yes, Successor?”

Dyon waved his hand, ”don't call me that, it'll only make me feel bad. Just call me Dyon,” Dyon smiled bitterly.

Arios smiled in acknowledgement.

”Since you were part of the Elvin Kingdom for a while… what do you know about its troubles?”